Washington, D.C.‘s restaurant industry trade group has waded into the district’s mayoral race, backing moderate councilman Kenyan McDuffie over socialist Janeese Lewis George.
The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, or RAMW, has been a staunch supporter of current Mayor Muriel Bowser throughout her tenure. Their backing of McDuffie, an ally of Bowser’s, continues the business group’s support for more centrist-leaning candidates, bucking Lewis George’s more leftist campaign, often compared to that of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Recommended Stories
KENYAN MCDUFFIE EMPHASIZES CENTRIST PROPOSALS COMPARED TO LEWIS GEORGE’S ‘NEW YORK CITY PLAYBOOK’
“Kenyan McDuffie emphasizes a results-oriented approach to governance, improving public safety, focusing on supporting small businesses, modernizing city government, and strengthening neighborhood commercial corridors,” RAMW said in a statement on the endorsement.
The group represents more than 1,500 restaurants in D.C., Northern Virginia, and the Maryland suburbs of the district. In Washington, D.C.’s vibrant food scene, the restaurant industry means a lot for local businesses and the local economy. RAMW has a Foodservice Political Action Committee and is active in local immigration policy advocacy.
The restaurant group said they were backing McDuffie due to his proposed policies of streamlining permitting and licensing processes into a single digital portal, creating an AI tool system to help local businesses open more quickly and creating a fund for small business rent support for those at risk of eviction.
RAMW told the Washington Examiner that the endorsement came after an internal review process, which Lewis George did not participate in.
“Because Councilmember Janeese Lewis George did not participate in that process, the committees were unable to conduct the evaluation that informs every endorsement,” a RAMW spokesperson said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
Despite their support for political candidates, the group has historically shied away from formal endorsements. They endorsed a swath of candidates for local office in 2026, however, including McDuffie and Brooke Pinto for DC Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
“This cycle, RAMW chose to endorse candidates whose stated positions align with the policies that will allow the region’s restaurant industry to thrive. This is a high-stakes moment for our industry, and these are consequential elections. Restaurants are economic anchors, neighborhood employers, and cultural institutions across the District, and the decisions made by the next class of elected officials will directly shape whether they can continue to grow, hire, and serve their communities,” the RAMW spokesperson said in the statement.
The endorsement of McDuffie also comes at a time when New York City businesses and restaurants have been wary of the business policies coming from Mamdani, a politician Lewis George has tried to emulate. Several high-profile New York City restaurateurs suspended their expansion plans in the Big Apple after Mamdani’s election, the New York Post reported.
D.C.’s business establishment community has largely backed McDuffie, with RAMW being the latest to support him.
When reached for comment on what a possible Lewis George administration would mean for D.C., Lewis George’s campaign pointed to her platform of “reduce red tape and rent for all small businesses.”
MAMDANI ACKNOWLEDGES ‘TROUBLING’ JOB NUMBERS WHILE HE PUSHES FOR HIGHER TAXES
Lewis George, who has pulled in massive fundraising numbers so far in the race, also argues for a streamlined, “one-stop shop” licensing and permitting process, while advocating an increase in property taxes on long-term vacant commercial spaces and expanding the small business property tax credit.
RAWM did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment on why they supported McDuffie over Lewis George.
